Phoenix officers: Jobs went to minorities

by Cecilia Chan - Oct. 9, 2012 09:34 PMThe Republic | azcentral.com

Three White Phoenix police officers are complaining that their superiors disregarded their seniority and instead picked women and minorities to work the plum assignment of the presidential inauguration in January.

The three officers, each with 20 or more years of service, were not chosen for the security detail, which will travel to Washington, D.C., for four days to do such tasks as traffic control.

Officers Barry Jacobs, Harold Ivey and Mike Jessie say the Phoenix Police Department violated the union contract that states that seniority must be the factor to make assignments.

The officers want to make sure the department doesn't use race or gender in future assignments.

"Everybody that is going is either female or a minority," said Will Buividas, treasurer and chief contract negotiator with the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association that represents police officers.

Phoenix police spokesman Tommy Thompson said it was inappropriate for the department to discuss an ongoing grievance.

The department is sending approximately 40 officers from different units, including gang and downtown operations.

The grievance the union filed is from officers in the neighborhood enforcement team. Seven of the nine selected from that unit are minorities and two are White female officers.

The three alternates are White men, which Buividas noted two of them have more seniority than any of the nine selected.

"Race should not even come into play," he said. "What should it matter, the color of skin or gender? What should be important is seniority on the department."

Buividas said he's received calls from eight to 10 other officers also expressing concerns.

Buividas met Monday with Assistant Police Chief Tracy Montgomery and is awaiting to hear from her about the complaint. He expects to take the matter to the city labor-relations administrator and ultimately to an independent arbitrator if necessary.

"This is the first time I know of in the Phoenix Police Department that we are now picking people based on the color of their skin and gender for an assignment,'' Buividas said.

The officers were selected by seniority in each ethnic and gender category proportional to the department's makeup, said Cmdr. Geary Brase of the department's Homeland Defense Bureau in an e-mail.

"That was the expressed desire of the police chief," Montgomery said in an Oct. 2 e-mail to the union.